Class and Power Structure for 5e Revamp - PEACH

[Kyutaru]

The following is the early draft of the coming system I'm designing that aims to revamp 5th edition into something more consistent, crunchy, and most importantly simple without delving into hundreds of sub-options and combat terms that remain inconsistent from class to class. Many of my previous mentions on stats and spells and skills relate to this system as the goal is to make all stats useful for all characters and in doing so present genuine consequences for player decisions during character creation without enabling bad characters to exist. I know, probably sounds too good to be true but you'll see.

I'm looking for any suggestions at all. Renames, relists, swaps, redefines, whatever. Once this is finalized it's not changing so this is the Early Access version.

PRIMAL: The power of nature and animals - Beastmasters use beasts in battle and mimic their ways
Select: Path - Ex; Path of the Tiger

Barbarian - martial beastmaster
- uses animal totems and beastial war crys and predatorial strikes with primalistic rage and instinct, tiny animal companion

Ranger - hybrid beastmaster
- adept at tracking and slaying all manner of creatures as well as hunting in any sort of wilderness, small animal companion

Druid - caster beastmaster
- full preparation caster that commands nature and shifts into its many bestial forms during battle, medium animal companion

BATTLE: The power of training for war - Warriors use special combat techniques perfected over time
Select: Style - Ex; Way of the Sword

Fighter - martial warrior
- learns all the ways to do battle hand-to-hand gaining many feats that specialize in further slaughter or defensive protection

Monk - hybrid warrior
- studies the ancient ways of harmony and balance to gain knowledge of many specialized forms of attacks and defenses and movements

Warlord - caster warrior
- masterful tactician that bolsters allies and demoralizes enemies while possessing innate knowledge of tactics and maneuvers

ARCANE: The power of mystical arts - Mages use reality-shaping incantations to control the world
Select: School - Ex; School of Necromancy

Warlock - martial mage
- enacts a pact with occult horrors for great power while studying swordplay to combine the best of both worlds on the battlefield

Sorcerer - hybrid mage
- harnesses the raw magical talent within to focus power into strengthening combat spells to better blast enemies apart with them

Wizard - caster mage
- full preparation caster that wields arcane power while researching new spells and unraveling new secrets of how to better use magic

DIVINE: The power of the immortal gods - Priests use granted miracles that spread the will of the gods
Select: Order - Ex; Order of Asmodeus

Inquisitor - martial priest
- spiritually empowered zealot that grants boons and banes through short prayers and an unyielding belief in banishing heretics

Paladin - hybrid priest
- punishes the blasphemous foes of the gods with both strength of conviction and religious fervor along with might and magic

Cleric - caster priest
- full preparation caster that channels divinity and uses it to protect their allies or annihilate enemies with righteous fury

SECRET: The power of hidden techniques - Scoundrels use lore passed down in guilds through generations
Select: Guild - Ex; Guild of Thieves

Rogue - martial scoundrel
- expert in all things skullduggery and deception with unrivaled skills at assassination and stealth and dungeon survival

Bard - hybrid scoundrel
- performer of forgotten musical magic and self-proclaimed jack of all trades but master of none except affecting morale

Trickster - caster scoundrel
- unparalleled master of misdirection that specializes in illusionary arts and subterfuge to gain the upper hand

MENTAL: The power of psionic prowess - Psions use psychic abilities that target and affect the mind
Select: Discipline - Ex; Power of the Nomad

Soulknife - martial psion
- creates blades forged from the very soul and enhances physical powers through mind-over-body metabolic manipulation

Psychic Warrior - hybrid psion
- combines the graces of mind and melee to overcome all obstacles through force of will and personal empowerment

Metamind - caster psion
- utilizes psicrystals and meditation to make continous use of psychic onslaughts and power manifestations without depletion

Suggested Others:

CHAKRA: The power of the five elements
Select: Element - Ex; Element of Lightning

Samurai - martial ???
Ninja - hybrid ???
Shugenja - caster ???

GENIUS: The power of scientific technology
Select: Society - Ex; Society of Leonardo

Gunslinger - martial engineer
Artificer - hybrid engineer
Alchemist - caster engineer

[Crisis21]

It looks like you're intending to make the half-casters into 'hybrid' classes, which sounds cool to me. I'm just questioning why the Bard is there. I thought they were full caster.

Honestly, I'd swap the Bard and Trickster concepts, make the Bard the secret caster and the Trickster the secret hybrid. After all, Tricksters are all about changing things up.

Edit: I'd also personally change the name of Inquisitor to Templar, but that's just me.

[Paleomancer]

CHAKRA: The power of the five elements
Select: Element - Ex; Element of Lightning

Samurai - martial ???
Ninja - hybrid ???
Shugenja - caster ???

I'm sensing a bit of Last Airbender here :)

I would note that chakras are more commonly associated with Hinduism and Buddism (predominantly India, some East Asia; I think it is a Sanskrit word), while your classes are all inspired solely by Japanese sources (I think Shujenga are actually derived from Shintoism, a separate belief system entirely). Not necessarily a bad thing, but if you are going for a general Asian-esque theme, you might want less culturally specific classes.

You might also want to distinguish elementalism from other power sources. Why isn't the Samurai simply a high-rank noble warrior of the Fighter class, for instance? A Ninja might be covered by Rogue or Trickster, depending on the source material. How is someone who studies the elements (wizard) or has an innate connection to them (sorcerer) different from a Shujenga? For that matter, why isn't a Shujenga simply a form of priest, as their RL counterparts were and still are? I'd almost move monk here for that reason, since in Japanese literature, warriors of any real power are essentially philosopher-warriors or monk-warriors.

I'd actually swap Paladin and Inquisitor for the martial and hybrid classes. Thematically, a paladin is the "spiritual warrior," while in history and fiction Inquisitors and their ilk tended to be investigators (like a theocratic FBI). A seeker of mysteries who expects a fight is exactly the sort of fantasy character one would expect to balance martial prowess and thaumaturgical might.

I do like the possibility of weird science. I'll have to think about more suggestions for that one... either embracing mad science or assigning each class to a major field of antiquarian science... Engineer/tech martial, biochem hybrid, and math/physics caster, perhaps?

[Composer99]

I like "guile" as the name of the scoundrel "power source", myself.